Alessio Occhipinti (30, Italy, MSF bio here, World Aquatics bio here) and Alessia Ossoli (21, Italy, MSF bio here, World Aquatics bio here) led an Italian sweep at the 61st Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli on September 6th.

The 36 km professional marathon swim in Italy has been held since 1954 and has a rich history from the start at Le Ondine Beach Club on the island of Capri to the finish: at Nazario Sauro, Circolo Canottieri in Napoli.

Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli History and Evolution

For decades, the Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli was the premier professional marathon swimming competition and one of the major competitions on the professional marathon swimming circuit from the 1950s to the present. Under the leadership and vision of its current race director Luciano Cotena, an Honor Administrator in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, the race has expanded to different competition dates for amateurs as well as the season-ending professional race held in early September.

As the sport has grown. Cotena has evolved the event to meet the growing demands of the global open water swimming community.

Amateur soloists and relays challenge themselves over the rough water 36 km course over the summer, racing from the island of Capri to the mainland in Napoli. On the June 13th edition, there were 25 competitors from Italy, Argentina, France, Hungary, Malta, Turkey, Great Britain, and the USA. On the June 19th edition, there were 38 swimmers from Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Great Britain, and the USA. On the June 26th edition, there were 30 swimmers from Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and Greece. On the July 3rd edition, there were 43 swimmers from Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Spain, France, El Salvador, Turkey, USA, and Venezuela.

Cotena literally opened up a previously exclusive professional marathon swim to 136 amateurs – a sign of the evolution of the sport.

61st Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli Results

1. Alessio Occhipinti, Italy 6 hours 13 minutes 28 seconds, 1st man
2. Matej Kozubek, Czech Republic 6 hours 18 minutes 39 seconds, 2nd man
3. Niccolò Ricciardi, Italy 6 hours 23 minutes 22 seconds, 3rd man
4. Alessia Ossoli, Italy 6 hours 26 minutes 45 seconds, 1st woman
5. Matias Diaz Hernandez, Argentina 6 hours 34 minutes 32 seconds, 4th man
6. Tomas Rodriguez, Argentina 6 hours 34 minutes 49 seconds, 5th man
7. Philippe Lacasse, Canada 6 hours 51 minutes 26 seconds, 6th man
8. Veronica Santoni, Italy 6 hours 54 minutes 41 seconds, 2nd woman
9. Matheus Evangelista, Brazil 6 hours 58 minutes 39 seconds, 7th man
10. Alexsandar Ilievski, North Macedonia 7 hours 5 minutes 19 seconds, 8th man
11. Daniel Ponce Jimenez, Spain 7 hours 15 minutes 15 seconds, 9th man
12. Mariel Loyato, Argentina 7 hours 16 minutes 18 seconds, 3rd woman
13. Giacomo Lucivero, Australia 7 hours 19 minutes 44 seconds, 10th man
14. Gonzalo Fabian Guidi, Argentina 7 hours 36 minutes 1 second, 11th man
15. Martin Miguel Carrizo Yunges, Argentina DNF
16. Emily Fogle, USA DNF

For more information on the Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli, visit here.

© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

World Open Water Swimming Federation, an exclusively human-powered project